Searching for Ixodoidea
by MoreBonesPlz
Summary: B&B go in the field to examine some remains and Booth gets an unpleasant surprise. Or is it? Set anytime pre-S6. Note rating.
1. Searching for Ixodoidea - Part 1

**A/N:** _What can I say? Must've been on a hormone high and this just kind of burped itself out one night._

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 **Disclaimer** : I own nothing _Bones_ related except my imagination.

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Booth looked down at the disemboweled body that was partially covered by leaves and silently cursed the bastard who'd dumped the body here at the edge of the woods, on Federal property, and ruined his upcoming Friday night. Not that he had big plans – a six pack of beer, some nachos smothered in cheese and jalapeños, and a hockey game – typical bachelor fare, but still. It had been a long week and he'd been looking forward to a night of just sitting on his couch and relaxing at home alone in his underwear.

Brennan squatted down next to the body and carefully started removing some of the debris with her forceps. As she poked and prodded the remains, exposing more of the body to view, the noxious odor of decaying flesh got stronger.

"Jesus Christ, Bones. Ugh! That smells _awful_."

She didn't even look up. "While there are hundreds of compounds released into the air during the decomposition process, what you are smelling are most likely the diamines pentmethylenediamine and tetramethylenediamine, more commonly known as cadaverine and putrescine, which come from the breakdown of the amino acids lysine and methionine in the flesh of the corpse."

"I don't care what or how many fancy names you give it. It still smells horrible." Booth's face was scrunched up in distaste as he waved his index cards back and forth beneath his nose, trying in vain to clear the stench from the air immediately in front of him.

Brennan continued speaking, the facts just continuing to trip off her tongue as though she'd previously prepared a lecture for one of her classes. "In living humans, both cadaverine and putrescine contribute in part to the smell detected in urine and in semen." Then, almost as an afterthought and with just the slightest tilt to her head, as though she were considering her words the first time, "Although, personally, I don't have any objection to the smell of semen."

"T.M.I, Bones," Booth responded, trying his damnedest to tamp down the visuals those last few words provoked and to ignore the instantaneous twitching that he felt in his shorts.

She quirked an eyebrow at him over her shoulder with a confused furrow of her brow.

"T.M.I. Too much information." Booth took a few steps backwards, moving away from Brennan and the body. "I think I'll, uh, I'm just gonna walk around a bit, you know, and look over the scene. Give me a holler when you're ready to go over your findings."

Booth saw Brennan raise her head and felt her crystal blue eyes following him for a few moments as he walked away, amazed that she could remain so close to the remains without retching from the smell. God, this body was foul. _Although, personally, I don't have any objection to the smell of semen._ He couldn't believe she'd said that and he couldn't prevent the flood of images that filled his mind with those few casually spoken words. Now wasn't the time, but Booth had no doubt he would be replaying those words again later and letting his mind indulge in some very un-partnerly imaginings. Jeez. She made him nuts sometimes.

The body had been dumped about 30 feet from where the edge of the woods bordered a large field and Booth headed towards the open area beyond the trees. Stepping into the field of tall grass and feeling the late afternoon sunlight on his face, Booth took a deep breath and relished the sweeter air. _She'd_ probably tell him that the presence of trees immediately overhead didn't alter the transmission of airborne compounds associated with odors or something squinty like that, but he didn't give a flying fuck. He believed the air smell better out in the open and he planned to take advantage of it, even if the distinction was only in his head.

Booth could look back into the trees and see his partner still crouched over the remains, carefully working, her concentration focused on the unfortunate soul on the ground in front of her. He marveled at how he could look at her and feel his whole body react to just how freakin' gorgeous she was even while she was poking around in something so absolutely disgusting. It didn't matter. He still found himself admiring the graceful arch of her neck when she tilted her head this way or that as she studied the victim. He still found himself fascinated with her slender fingers and the way they traced over what she touched, knowing she was absorbing data from the texture beneath her finger tips and wondering what it would feel like to be the body beneath those hands, to have them exploring his torso, his face, or other less innocent areas. He still looked at her in that god-awful Jeffersonian clown suit she wore and pictured what it would be like to peel that back and reveal the soft, naked flesh hidden underneath.

He felt the heaviness pool in his groin that was almost a constant companion when he was with her these days, regardless of the situation, and pulled his eyes away from her once more.

Booth smiled secretly to himself. He fully expected she'd find a way to tease him about running away from the stench, and, if he was honest, he kind of enjoyed her ribbing and was looking forward to it. It was her way of demonstrating the playful side of herself that not everyone got to see and he'd admitted to himself at least, he loved it. However, he did NOT want her to look up from her position crouched over a corpse and catch him sporting a full-on boner. The merciless teasing he'd get for that didn't even bear thinking about so he'd find something else to focus on, other than her, for the time being.

Booth turned his back on the crime scene and studied the field he stood in. He walked around, noting that grass was tall enough to reach mid-thigh on him. Using some of his tracking skills that he'd learned while in the military, he wandered around, looking for signs that the grass had been recently disturbed. He discovered several game trails indicating deer passed through the area frequently, but nothing unusual or out of the ordinary. Nothing man-made. After about 30 minutes of wandering through the field during which he'd managed to convince himself that whoever dumped the body must've come through the woods, not the field, he heard Brennan holler his name and taking one last breath of his treasured fresh air, he headed back her way.

"Watcha got, Bones?"

She stood and stretched, working the kinks out of her muscles from her prolonged period of crouching, completely oblivious to how even her field suit couldn't hide the perky up-thrust of her breasts as she gripped her hands behind her back and pulled her arms behind her as she twisted her neck from side to side. "Well, the victim is male. I'd say early thirties. He's about 188 centimeters tall and weighed approximately 95 kilograms."

"Really, Bones?"

She rolled her eyes. "Fine. 6'-2" tall and 210 pounds."

"That's much better. What else?"

"He's muscular, so was probably in pretty good shape physically." She squatted back down, next to the body again. "There appear to be three bullet wounds here . . . here . . . and here which were fired at relatively close range. If he was shot while in this location, which appears likely based on the amount of blood in the soil, the techs should be looking for bullet casings within a 50-foot radius. This one is likely the cause of death," she explained, pointing to a spot roughly in line with the center of his sternum, but offset slightly to the left.

"Right." Booth made notes of her observations. "Time of death?"

"It's probably best to wait until Hodgins and Cam get a look at the body back at the lab, but based on the level of decomposition, I'd posit 4 to 5 days."

They spoke for a few more minutes about her observations and what evidence the FBI field techs had, or had not, already uncovered before proclaiming their part of the field work done. The rest would follow once the body was delivered to the lab.

Sure enough, they had just started to drive away from the scene when she brought it up. "You know, Booth. In the Victorian era, ladies carried scented handkerchiefs with them to help detract from the unpleasant odors of the sewers and the unhygienic scent of the common people who couldn't afford to bathe regularly. I could put a little perfume on a handkerchief and carry with me in my field kit for you if you need me to."

He could hear the superior smile in her voice and, without even looking, knew her lips would be tilted up at the edges and her eyes would be sparkling with barely concealed mirth directed towards him. A quick glance confirmed his suspicions. Oh, yeah. Bones was feeling playful.

"You know, Bones, those same ladies used to drop those same handkerchiefs in front of gentlemen they were interested in as a way of signaling a romantic awareness. In addition to having an excuse for an introduction when a man picked up and returned the item to its owner, the gentleman would be exposed to the woman's personal scent." Then, Booth's voice dropped to a sexy purr. "At the time, it was considered quite the intimate privilege to be familiar with a particular woman's scent."

"Hmm. Yes. That's true." He'd expected more of a debate from her but she suddenly sounded distracted. Booth glanced her way and saw her looking at him with a frown on her face.

"If you gave me a handkerchief scented with _your_ perfume, someone might think you were, you know, flirting with me or something?" He said it mostly to provoke her.

"Huh." He felt the gentle brush of her breath on his skin with her soft exclamation and again glanced her way. She was right there, leaning over the center console into his personal space on his side of the car and Booth felt his heart lurch in his chest. Whether that was because he was startled by her unexpected proximity, aroused to find her so close, or a combination of the two, he couldn't quite say.

"Whoa, Bones. What're you doing?"

"Pull over Booth."

"What?"

Brennan looked out the front window of the truck and pointed. "There. Turn down that little side road and pull over."

"Why?" he asked, even as he followed her instructions, turning on to the dirt side road and pulling over to stop the car.

"I need to get into my field kit," she responded as she opened the door and hopped out of the truck, circling around to the back to pop the tailgate and rummage through her kit. When she found what she was looking for, she looked up and saw Booth still sitting in the driver's seat. "What are you waiting for, Booth? Come here."

Booth got out of his seat and approached the back of the truck cautiously. Brennan just pointed at the back. "Sit." So, he did, wondering when he had started blindly following her commands like some sort of meek poodle, whether they made sense to him or not.

Brennan stepped close, close enough that he could feel her body heat as she practically pressed her length up against his side, and Booth shied away, feeling a little panicked. "What the hell, Bones? What are you doing?"

She smacked his leg. "Be still. You have a tick on your neck. A little one, just below your ear."

Fuck. He hated ticks. As a sniper, he'd laid down in just about every type of terrain, remaining still for hours, and he'd had his fair share of tick encounters. The evil little bastards were like the spawn of Satan and the thought of them made his skin crawl.

He felt the gentle pressure of her finger tip from one hand touch the skin of his neck while the cool metal tweezers in her other hand grabbed the creepy crawly little monster and removed him.

Brennan stepped back and he immediately missed the warmth from her body. She studied the tip of her tweezers for a moment before dropping the little critter into a small evidence jar she had grabbed from her kit.

"Here," she handed him the jar. "Looks like a Lonestar tick. See the white dot on the back?"

Booth took the glass jar from her hand and looked at what it contained. "Yeah. I think your right. Thanks Bones."

"Booth. I see more."

Booth jumped up. "Where?"

Plucking the jar from his hand, Brennan pulled three more ticks off his white dress shirt and dropped them in with their buddy before screwing the lid back on.

"Did you get them all?"

Brennan's eyes ran up and down her partner dispassionately then looked at the jar in her hand. "Well, I don't see any more right now, but these stood out fairly well against your white shirt. A couple of these are pretty small, probably still nymphs, and they'd be very difficult to spot on your dark pants." Brennan reached into her field kit again and pulled out a medium sized plastic trash bag. "Booth, I think you should take all your clothes off."

Five minutes ago, if asked, Booth would've sworn he'd had every fantasy and envisioned every possible scenario where she might conceivably say those words to him. Good thing he no longer gambled because he'd have been wrong. "What? Here? On the freakin' side of the road? Are you crazy, Bones?"

His voice came out as a squeak and she noticed. She smirked and chuckled. "God, you're such a prude. I'll turn around if it makes you feel better and I'll even promise not to peek." Not that she wouldn't be tempted. She handed him the bag and turned her back to him. "I assume you have something you can put on in your gym bag, but you should take off all the clothes you're currently wearing and seal them in that bag. When you get home, just dump them in the dryer on high heat for at least 15 minutes and that should kill any ticks we don't see that are still on your clothing. The ones that are still in the larvae phase can be extremely difficult to spot and hot air is the best way to eliminate them."

"Shit," he exclaimed, but from the rustling sounds that followed, Brennan knew he was following her instructions and didn't even try to stop herself from imagining watching him disrobe.

Booth removed his tie and dress shirt first. He found another tick crawling around on his undershirt but rather than trying to capture it, he just pulled it over his head and dropped it into the bag. Next he removed his belt, then shoes, then pants and dropped them in the bag too. A quick glance found two more ticks on his bare legs, near his ankles. "Damn. Where'd you put the tweezers Bones?"

Brennan extended her arm backwards without turning around and handed him the tweezers. "More?"

"Yeah."

Once he captured those and dropped them in the jar, he pulled off his socks so that he was standing there in nothing but his boxers. Booth wondered briefly if he could get away with leaving those on but looked at Brennan who was standing somewhat patiently with her back to him and figured it would be just like her to ask him if he took off _everything_ and then give him hell if she found out he didn't. So, with a deep breath, he reached down and pushed his boxers to the ground too.

Booth was standing 100% fully naked in the great outdoors within 5 feet of the woman he secretly loved.

And she was looking the other way.

So completely NOT how it worked in his fantasies.

Booth grabbed the sweat pants from his gym bag and started to pull them on when he noticed another of the little brown mother fuckers making its way stealthily up his inner thigh, headed towards his family jewels. "Son of a bitch."

Brennan startled at his curse and started to turn around "Are you –"

"No. No, no. Stop. I'm fine. Everything's under control. Just found another one, that's all, but I got it covered."

He grabbed the tweezers and took care of that one too then quickly pulled up his pants and grabbed a t-shirt and sneakers from his bag.

Once he was dressed and Brennan had conducted a visual survey of his front and back, they got back in the car and started driving again.

"I hate ticks," he growled after the first couple minutes had passed in silence.

"That's understandable. I'm not terribly fond of them myself."

"Do you think you have any on you too?"

"It's highly unlikely. The Jeffersonian field suits are pre-treated with a tick repellent called Permethrin which is extremely effective at preventing tick-bites."

"Damn. We must've found what . . . almost ten ticks, Bones. Do you think I brushed up against a tick nest or something?"

"I don't think so, Booth. Ticks don't nest past the larval stage and the ones I saw on you were bigger than that. I was with a colleague once at an excavation site who brushed up against a larval tick nest and he had hundreds of them on him almost instantly. They were so tiny, you could barely see them – it was more like someone had dusted him with a fine brown powder. We used tape to try to remove them all, which is a very effective method if implemented quickly, before they start to bite. Despite common folk lore, ticks don't jump or fly so you have to brush up against them for them to get on you. With as many as you encountered, I suspect you got them from the tall grass you were walking around in. You mentioned game trails in the grass and if deer or other game pass through there, it's reasonable to assume ticks drop and climb on their hosts there too. That grassy area must've been heavily infected and you were standing out there for a while."

"Huh. Well, however they got on me, I hate the little buggers. Probably almost as much as you hate snakes."

The next half hour of the drive passed quietly as they watched the sky turn from blue, to pink, to darkness with the setting of the sun.

"Booth?"

"Yeah, Bones?"

"Lonestar ticks are known to be possible carriers of several different diseases. Ehrlichiosis. Tularemia. And, STARI. When you get home, you still really need to perform a thorough tick-check in case you missed any."

"Yeah, Bones. I know. My skin feels like it's crawling right now and I don't think that feeling will go away until I've checked and confirmed they're all gone."

Another few moments of silence passed before Brennan cleared her throat. "Ticks tend to migrate towards areas that are either warm and moist or which emit strong scent . . . areas which can be hard to see during a self-examination. The hairline at the back of the head, armpits, the back, and the rectal and groin areas are some of the more common locations they will attach themselves, but, of course, it's possible for them to bite anywhere . . . With as many ticks as you seem to have encountered, it really would be best if you have someone assist you with your tick-check . . . to be certain." The words came out a little more husky than she had intended. Maybe a tad too eager too.

Booth's heart felt like it stopped beating for a few seconds, then started up again at a pace much more rapid than usual. "Wha-? Excuse me?" His voice hadn't squeaked quite like that since the eighth grade.

Brennan furrowed her brow and frowned at him. "I thought that was pretty clear. Ticks can get in places where a person can't see very well on themselves. It would be best if . . ."

"Right. Got it. Don't worry, Bones, I'll use a hand mirror to help me."

"Booooth." She drawled his name in that chastising tone, like he was being completely unreasonable. "You can't take the chance that you might miss any just because of your modesty. Besides, if you find one in a hard to reach spot, how would you get rid of it?"

"No. No way, Bones. No. I am not going to strip down naked and let you poke and prod me looking for ticks. No. It's not happening."

Good lord. Just the thought of it had all the spare blood in his body racing towards his groin area. With the luck he was having so far today, he could picture himself lying on the bed, gloriously naked with an erection hard enough to pulverize diamonds (because he couldn't picture being naked in front of _her_ without a diamond pulverizing worthy erection) and her totally oblivious as she searched for freaking bugs. Hell. If she so much as touched his ball sac by accident or worse yet, by design, he'd probably ejaculate everywhere and then she'd tell him not to be embarrassed by a normal bodily reaction and remind him that personally, she doesn't freakin' object to the smell of semen. It was his own personal rendition of hell. Could he even picture a scenario where he might feel any more mortified?

"I could call Jared . . . . . . . . Or Cam, if you prefer."

 _Fuuuuck_. Guess that answered that question. Brennan's voice was dejected and quiet and she had that wounded little girl look that she got whenever he said or did something that made her feel like she thought she wasn't good enough for him, like he'd rejected her.

"There is absolutely no fucking way I'm letting my little brother get ahold of my testicles, Bones. Not even to do a tick check. Not. Happening."

"Cam then? Or even the emergency room?"

It had gotten dark enough that he couldn't see her as clearly as he would've liked, but even in the shadows, he could discern the stubborn tilt to her chin. He had to remind himself she was acting this insistent because in her own unique Temperance Brennan kind of way, she cared about him and on the heels of that thought, he acknowledged she wasn't going to give up on this. Fuck. Persistent, tenacious, dogged, and obstinate were all too mild of words for her when she believed she was acting towards _his_ best welfare. Damn woman. There was no way in hell he was going to convince her to just drop this topic. Too bad the part of his brain that felt flattered and tender appreciation for her concern was overwhelmed by the part of his brain that was solidly convinced this could only end in disaster and humiliation for him. Against his better judgment and all his intentions to hold firm, he heard himself acquiesce, albeit, not exactly with grace. "Aarrrrrrgh. Fine," he snapped. "I'll take you back to my place with me and _you_ can check me for ticks in all those hard to access places."

"Fine."

"Happy now?"

"Yes. I am."

"Good."

"Fine."

"Fine."

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 **A/N:** _Will post part 2 (the "M" part) on Sunday. Any fun?_


	2. Searching for Ixodoidea - Part 2

**A/N:** _Thanks for the wonderful reviews. I hope this continues to entertain. Note rating._

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 **Disclaimer** : I own nothing _Bones_ related except my imagination.

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Was he out of his ever-loving mind? How did _she_ do things like this to him? Lord knows, he must need his head examined again. The litany of self-flagellating comments just kept piling up in his mind. What kind of humiliating, wise ass comment was she likely to make when she figured out just how hard his cock was? Or worse, what kind of humiliating, wise ass comment would she make if he _wilted_ when it was show time?

As he parked his truck outside his apartment, Booth noticed Bones rubbing her hands back and forth on her jeans, almost like _she_ was the nervous one, which he found rather amusing under the circumstances since he was the one trying not to suffer the indignity of a panic attack right then.

"You okay there Bones?"

She looked up at the windows of his apartment above the liquor store and let out the breath she'd been holding in a puff of air that caused the hair on her forehead to gently lift up before falling back into place. "Maybe I _should_ call Cam instead. She's already intimately familiar with your unclothed physique so you wouldn't need to worry about your prudish sensibilities being compromised."

Booth heard her words and while they sounded reasonable – well, relative to the bizarre circumstances he found himself in anyway - they lacked conviction. For some reason he couldn't quite explain, her sudden nervous reluctance made him feel a whole lot better. He still had no doubt he'd end up humiliating himself somehow before the night was through, but at least it meant maybe this wasn't going to just be all clinical to her either. "No, Bones. I _know_ you and no matter how much you respect Cam, you won't ever truly believe she'd be as diligent as you. You'll be left worrying and wondering if she did a good enough job. Nope. The only way for you to get peace of mind is for you to check me out yourself." He couldn't believe that as adamantly opposed as he had been to the idea of her performing a _thorough_ tick check on him not 20 minutes ago, he was now arguing for it.

Honestly? Now that he'd resigned himself to it, he was actually starting to look forward to it.

Sort of.

In a strangely, masochistic kind of way.

Brennan nodded and started to get out of the car. He was right. She knew he was. She'd never be satisfied if she had to rely on someone else's word that everything was all clear. Not to mention, the thought of Cam coming over to assist him with a personal matter that she, herself, was denied permission to help him with made her want to scratch her colleague's eyes out, even if that sentiment was totally irrational.

Booth unlocked his front door and held it open so Brennan could pass through ahead of him. After all, what kind of gentleman would he be if he didn't even hold the door open for the woman he was about to get naked with?

Brennan headed right towards the kitchen. "I'm going to grab a glass of water first. Would you like one too?"

"Sure, Bones." He slipped off his sneakers by the front door and followed her bare-footed into the kitchen.

Brennan grabbed two glasses from the cupboard, added a couple ice cubes to each, and filled them with water before sliding one towards Booth and downing half her glass at one time. Her movements were efficient and smooth and there was nothing in her mannerisms to indicate her inner turmoil right at that moment. She was feeling a little guilty for taking advantage of Booth. Sure, she argued with herself, it's true that he really did need someone else to assist him. That was only rational and she was the most logical choice under the circumstances. But she was deliberately planning to shamelessly take advantage of this opportunity to get as close to him as possible with as little clothing as she could convince him to wear largely just to feed her prurient fantasies about him and she expected she should feel even guiltier than she did.

But the guilty feeling was really just a tiny niggle right then. She was mostly overwhelmed by feelings of eager anticipation, arousal, and downright curiosity about his body. Brennan had had her share of fantasies about Booth's cock – how it would feel in her hands, her mouth, between her legs, but just as many of her fantasies about him revolved around simply touching his skin, with her fingers or her lips. Feeling the heat from his flesh as she traced his muscles, exploring the contours of his shoulders, back, stomach, and hands (she loved his hands) with just a light sensual touch. She'd like to experiment with whether she could bring him to orgasm without ever touching his nether regions simply by stimulating his other erogenous zones. Now, under the guise of making sure he was safe from the creepy crawlies, she was going to get to live out at least a portion of those dreams.

Booth raised his glass to his lips to drink and Brennan watched his Adam's apple bob up and down as he swallowed. Not for the first time, she had a desire to lick him, right there. As a starting point. Like a Boothy lollipop. Her eyes dropped to his waistband. _How many licks does it take to get to the center . . ?_ the old Tootsie Pop commercial jingle popped into her mind and she figured it was time to get things moving forward before she completely forgot her purpose here and simply attacked him.

"The lighting is probably best in your bathroom, don't you agree?"

"Yeah, sure. After you," Booth bowed with a sweep of his arm, indicating she should lead the way. He would've sworn he saw heated desire flash in her eyes a moment earlier but, acknowledged, he could just be projecting his own thoughts and wants.

"I'll start with your head." Looking quickly around the room, Brennan gestured towards the toilet. "Probably best if you take a seat so I'm taller than you."

Booth's toilet was tucked in between his vanity counter and the corner, with the free-standing bathtub against the opposite side of the room so as he sat, he was facing the tub and the only space for Brennan to stand was directly in front of him. In order to reach his head, she needed to stand such that she was straddling his thighs and as she stepped forward to do so, the hard soles of her boots brushed a little too close for comfort to Booth's bare toes.

"Jesus, Bones. Watch where you're stepping?" he snapped as he shifted his feet out of the way, spreading his legs slightly.

"Oh. Sorry about that." Brennan stepped back and sat on the edge of his tub, tugging the zippers down one at a time on her boots and pulling them off her feet so she wouldn't hurt him if she accidentally stepped on his toes in the cramped corner. She knew how tender and sensitive his feet could be.

Booth just swallowed. Hard. Watching Bones take off her boots was incredibly sexy and not something he would've expected to turn him on quite as much as it did. Now, if she'd only do the same thing with those snug fitting jeans she had on, he'd probably go crazy. Damn. Why couldn't they have found some ticks on her too?

Brennan approached him again, sliding her right leg between his thighs, her left leg to the outside, and gently grabbed his head in both her hands, pulling it towards her and tilting it down as she started her exam. With her torso pressed that closely up against him, the only place Booth could rest his hands that didn't feel awkward to him was to place them on her hips, which he did, holding his breath until he was certain she wasn't going to object.

She didn't.

With methodical precision, she began running her fingers through his hair, feeling his scalp for any irregularities while she studied the skin she could see revealed as she brushed his short hair this way or that. "Did you know ticks will instinctually climb up their hosts bodies looking for a place to bite? They have an affinity for the head, scalp, and ear areas because the skin or hide of many animals is actually thinner on the head." There was a husky, breathiness to her voice that wasn't usually there and once again Booth felt himself going from half-mast to something significantly fuller as it washed over him. Jeez, imagine what it would be like if she was talking to him about something sexier than freaking bugs. All he could manage was a grunt in response to her comment.

Brennan took her time (there was no way she was going to rush this opportunity) and tried her best to ignore the fact that she had more or less pressed his face into her bosom and that her nipples had gleefully perked up into rigid little nubs, begging for their own examination. Preferably oral.

She told herself that when Booth wriggled his head a time or two during her inspection, he wasn't really nuzzling her breasts despite how it felt. He was probably just trying to breathe easier, which is the same rationale she used when she heard him slowly and quietly inhale a breath through his nose a moment later. He'd never shown any interest in her scent before, so why would he suddenly be taking a deep breath through his nose other than simply for air?

She leaned forward over him a little more, stretching up on her tippy toes so she could see the hairline closer to the nape of his neck and for a brief moment, was almost certain she'd fell him press his lips to her abdominal muscles, through her shirt. Wishful thinking, no doubt.

Brennan eased back down onto her feet. "Your hair looks clean. I don't see any ticks that have embedded themselves there."

"Thanks."

"Lean forward." She put her hand on his shoulder and guided him down until he was tucked up into a ball similar to an airplane crash position. This allowed her to see the back of his neck easier and let her check behind his ears. "Here's one," she stated pushing the lobe of his left ear forward slightly to grab a tick that was in the crease at the back of his ear and drop it into the small jar that housed their growing collection.

When she was satisfied she hadn't missed anything on his head and couldn't justify lingering over him anymore, she stepped back and while neither partner was ready to admit it, they both felt the loss of her proximity to his body.

Brennan cleared her throat and waved her hand in front of her in a rolling type motion. "You can stand now. It's, uh, it's time for you to take your shirt off. So I can check your chest. And your back. Mostly your back, because you can't see that yourself. And that's why I'm here. To help, you know, with the areas you can't see yourself." She was babbling and forced herself to simply stop talking.

It was just Booth.

But, oh Lordy, it was a semi-naked _Booth_. Or soon would be.

Booth grabbed the hem of his t-shirt at this waist and with both arms, pulled his shirt up and over his head, dropping it without ceremony on the floor at their feet. Then, he quickly turned away from her and leaned his arms against the bathroom counter so she had full access to his back.

Brennan was mesmerized and momentarily couldn't decide where to start as she feasted her eyes on his musculature before finally settling on continuing where her neck exam from before he removed his shirt had ended. She reached up and placed the cool palm of her hand against his neck feeling like she needed to say something to redeem her intelligence after prattling on a moment ago. "I have a PhD in kinesiology, you know."

Booth chuckled. "Yeah, Bones. I know." She's a fucking genius.

"I'm exceptionally well versed with respect to human anatomy. You're built with a pleasing symmetry and I find you well proportioned, Booth. The breadth of your acromia and the way your back tapers down to your iliac crest is very agreeable to admire." Her hand followed her words, sliding down his back in a caress that ended just above his sweatpants. _Wilting_ was not going to be a problem, he thought.

"You saying you think I'm hot there, Bones?" His tone was cocky and teasing as he cast a glance at her over his shoulder, though it was largely bravado at the moment.

Brennan frowned. "I was speaking from an objective, scientific perspective."

"Riiight. Got it."

Her brows furrowed even deeper. "What's that mean?"

Booth turned back away from her. "Nothing, Bones. Please, continue your exam."

Brennan, certain she'd somehow inadvertently given up ground to him in their constant unspoken battle, focused back on the task at hand. Booth could feel her breath on his skin as she leaned in close and touched every single freckle on his exposed skin as she let her hands and eyes explore the expanse of muscle laid bare before her.

"Found another." He felt her fingers against the skin near his right external oblique, just a few inches above his hip, as she pressed against him with the tweezers and pulled another of the brown bastards off his skin. "You would've had difficulty extracting that one on your own." Smug vindication that her presence was beneficial rang clearly in her tone.

At some point during her perusal, he looked up and caught sight of her reflected back at him in the bathroom mirror that hung over the vanity. She was behind Booth and wasn't thinking about the mirror, making no effort to hide the illicit thoughts in her mind that were revealed on her face. Booth's breath caught silently at the unmasked sight of raw desire he saw expressed on her face and he was transfixed as his heart started to beat more rapidly with the recognition of the potential for possibilities. _Maybe . . ?_

When she finished his back, he quickly looked back down so she wouldn't suspect he'd seen her. She made him lift his left arm so she could check his underarm area before examining the full length of his arm down to his fingertips, then repeated the procedure with his right arm. Booth went along with her commands docilely while he debated whether he should act on his newfound knowledge that, at some level, she was pretty turned on right now. His only hesitation was wondering if it was 'just now' that had her aroused or whether, if he acted, there'd be 'tomorrow and the next day and the next day after that.'

"Okay. Turn around so I can check your chest," she ordered.

"Um, Bones . . ."

"What?"

"I need just a couple minutes first." Booth was still commando beneath his sweats from his earlier roadside striptease and the sweats didn't do much of anything to restrain his erection. The tent in the front of his pants was damn prominent at the moment and there was no way she was going to miss it once he wasn't hidden by his vanity counter.

"Why? . . . . . . Ooooh." He could've predicted the smug little smirk he saw in the mirror that lit up her face a minute later when she understood his reservation. "You have an erection."

Booth groaned. "Yes, Bones."

"Can I assume it's because I've been touching you?"

Booth shot her an incredulous look. "Well, yeah."

"Then if we wait for it to subside and I start touching you again once you turn around, won't it just come right back?"

Booth closed his eyes and sighed. He was going to lose this one. Again. "Probably."

"Your ears and neck are bright red, Booth. Would you be less embarrassed if I admitted that I'm also finding this experience quite arousing and that my panties are damp?"

"Bones!" he barely choked out the word past his shock. Holy. Fucking. Shit. Any softening that might have occurred in the last couple minutes was gone in an instant. Jesus. Had he ever been this hard?

"Then are you concerned I'll be unimpressed with your size? Because I have seen you naked briefly once before if you'll remember, and I don't think you have anything to worry about on that front, although you were flaccid at the time. My recollection is that you were pleasantly endowed and my memory is generally excellent."

"Jesus, Bones." _Dear God, how did he make her stop?_ "No. No one's ever complained about my size before and I'm not worried about that."

"That's good, because size isn't everything to a woman, you know. Personally, I'd much rather have a skillful lover who knows how to use his penis to maximum effect to draw out my orgasm than simply a lover with a large penis that thinks it's a battering ram."

"Christ, Bones. You're not helping matters here but I give up." Booth pushed away from the counter and turned around.

For just the briefest of moments, Brennan thought about trying to take the high road and keep her eyes on Booth's and above his waistline to make him feel better but, hell, she'd already acknowledged she was going to shamelessly take advantage of this situation, so why stop now? Her eyes dropped. The bulge in the front of his sweatpants was very tantalizing. "I don't think you have anything to worry about, Booth."

That voice of hers was pure sin and the look in her eyes wasn't much better. Booth gripped the counter top behind him, hard, to keep from wrapping his hands around her, not entirely certain whether he'd be more likely to go for her throat, and strangle her, or go for her ass, and pull her crotch onto his rigid dick. "Bones." His voice was practically a growl. "If you don't stop looking at me like that, you're going to get a much more personal introduction to my cock than I think you were bargaining on tonight."

Brennan's eyes flew up to his in surprise. "But you're aroused by the situation, not me."

Booth snorted. "Whatever gave you that crazy idea?"

"You did." Her eyes searched his now. "You said we could never be together. You said there was a line we couldn't cross. You've never indicated you wanted it otherwise."

Booth still didn't trust himself to touch her right then, but there was no doubting the sincerity in his voice when he responded. "Bones, I think I'd probably already crossed that line with you before I ever even uttered those words the first time. I'm crazy about you and no imaginary line is going to change that, but I'm not interested in a one night stand with you."

Brennan read the truth in his eyes. He found _her_ desirable. He was crazy about _her_. He wanted more than just one night – he wanted a relationship . . . _with_ _her_. His way. Long term and monogamous. The idea terrified her, but it also thrilled her. If her defenses hadn't been lowered by the quasi-foreplay they'd been engaging in since arriving at his apartment, she might have even tried to resist him. But not now.

She stepped forward, leaving just a shadow of space between them, and placed her opened palms gently on his chest, right above his nipples. "Okay."

She could see Booth's chest start to rise and fall a little quicker with his breathing and she felt the air from his breaths brush across her skin as she deliberately placed her first kiss right over his heart. "Bones," he growled as one hand let go of the vanity behind him and cupped the back of her head, tangling in her hair and tugging to turn her face up towards his so he could claim her lips in a fierce kiss. Booth's tongue teased her lips, begging for entrance to her mouth, which she happily granted as she slid one hand up over his shoulder to cup the back of his neck and let her other hand trail down a couple inches so she could flick her nails across his turgid nipple.

By the time they pulled apart for air, both partners were panting heavily. Brennan leaned her forehead on Booth's chest and closed her eyes as she sucked in a lung full of air. "I lied earlier," she confessed. "My panties weren't just damp, they were soaked. And now, I bet my jeans are too."

Booth threw his head back and laughed out loud as he allowed both his hands to return to her waist, pulling her flush against his body as he leaned back against the counter and letting her feel the hard ridge of his erection against her belly. He leaned forward and nipped her ear before whispering softly into it "if you're worried about your jeans, you can always take them off."

With that, the rest of the dam broke and there was no more holding back, for either of them, as they captured each other's mouths in another tongue twisting carnal exploration. Their lips were sealed tightly together as he stroked his tongue into her mouth and wrapped it possessively around hers. If he retreated, she followed him and explored his mouth until he took control again thrusting them both back into the cavern of her mouth.

All thoughts of ticks were gone and Brennan's hands were wandering all over Booth's chest – his pectorals, his deltoids, his abdominals, even teasing his umbilicus - simply for the pleasure of feeling him beneath her hands. Brennan's blouse buttoned up the front, but Booth was too impatient for buttons and grabbed the bottom of her shirt, pulling upwards until she lifted her arms and let him pull it from her body, tossing it on the floor with his earlier discarded shirt.

She hadn't dressed for seduction that morning so the bra she wore was more practical than decorative, a simple pale blue demi cup that lifted her breasts, emphasizing her cleavage, but with little to no ornamentation. The half-cups of the garment just barely covered her nipples and she didn't fully appreciate how much the simple design appealed to Booth's senses. The lack of embellishments or furbelows on her garment meant that his focus when he looked down at her was fully engaged by the creamy expanse of skin forming the two shapely mounds which appeared to be being offered up for his enjoyment.

He captured her eyes and watched the crystal blue orbs darken with desire as he ran one finger down her sternum, between her breasts before following the edge of her demi-cups up over the swell of one mound, then back and over the other. Then he dipped his finger under the lip of the material and grazed the swollen bud of one teat causing her to suck in her breath, sharply.

"Like that?"

"More, Booth."

His lips covered hers again as he slid his arms around her back and found the clasp to her bra, releasing it. His fingers slid up to her shoulders so he could gently slip them under her straps and ease the garment off her shoulders, down her arms, and drop it next to her shirt. A shiver of pure delight tingled up his spine as he finally felt her bare skin pressed to his, her pebbled nipples contrasting with every other part of her that touched him which was soft.

She wanted more, so he brought his arms forward and cupped the full heaviness of each orb in his hands, his fingertips alternating between stroking and teasing, or pinching and plucking. The sound of her moan deep in her throat made his cock twitch in anticipation. Booth broke their kiss again, but didn't go far. He trailed his lips along her jawline to her neck. Brennan let her head fall backwards in a submissive move, baring her throat to his exploration. Booth didn't ignore the invitation. He left a wet trail as he licked, kissed, and sucked his way down her neck from her jaw to her collarbone. Her fingers were back in his hair, holding his head to her, but not stealing his control.

"Yes, Booth. More."

With her encouragement, he moved lower, leaving a blazing trail of kisses between her breasts as he teased her, kissing one, then the other, but ignoring the rosy aureoles that crested each until he heard a mewling sound at the back of her throat and felt her fingers tighten almost painfully in his hair. He lifted one of her cupped breasts to his lips and lapped lazily at the firm nipple before sucking it deep into his mouth. His name left her lips in a breathy cry and her hands slid down to his shoulders where she could grip him even firmer, leaving crescent shaped nail marks pressed into his skin. He tongued the rigid nub and suckled hard. Then he soothed it with gentle caresses from his lips and teased it with an extremely light nibble with his teeth.

Whereas she had been standing in the "V" of his thighs, she threw one leg over his so she was again straddling his legs. This allowed her to thrust her pelvis against him, creating a delicious friction against her weeping core which had been feeling neglected. Booth moved his attention to her other breast and repeated the same sucking routine as she rode up against his thigh, feeling his strong leg muscles parting her most intimate folds. "I'm gonna come if you do that again," Brennan warned him.

Booth did it again and felt her whole body tremor as she squeezed his thigh tightly between hers and a mini-orgasm rocked through her.

He loved watching the ecstasy wash across her face as her orgasm pulsed through her body.

He loved how responsive she was to his touch.

He loved the sound of his name falling from her lips when she came.

Booth held her hips stationary, in place, as she caught her breath and relaxed against him as the last remaining shudders rippled through her. He cupped her face in one palm and turned her to look at him as he placed a soft, chaste kiss on her lips. "Damn, Bones. That was beautiful."

She snorted. "Now I _know_ my jeans are soaked."

He smiled mischievously and wagged his brows. "You know my solution to that."

"Yes," and for the first time that night, she placed the palm of her hand directly over Booth's cock, gripping him gently through his sweatpants. "And as soon as they come off, I want you inside me, Booth. We can play and explore and experiment later – tonight, tomorrow, next week - but right now, I need to feel this . . . " she squeezed him, ". . . buried as deep as you can go."

Booth swallowed, turned on almost as much by her clear reference that this wasn't a one-time thing as he was by the feel of her petite fingers sliding up and down his shaft with just a thin layer of cotton separating them. She squeezed and he decided the hand definitely won over the reference, but he liked both. "Bedroom. Now."

"Yes."

His hands swept down her backside and cupping her behind, he yanked her off her feet, angling her body until her pelvis was nestled right over his and her legs were wrapped around his waist. In this manner, he carried her into his bedroom and lowered her to his bed.

The time for foreplay was done. As she said, they could touch and taste and explore each other later, for years to come if he had his say in things. But he'd been struggling to control his erection for _hours_ now and he was ready to sink himself into her for that first time ever.

After laying her down, he stood and stripped off his sweats, feeling ten feet tall at the appreciative look she bestowed on him once he was exposed. Yeah, she was pleased and he definitely wasn't going to have to worry about wilting. He reached for the snap on her jeans and then tugged on her zipper once he'd popped it open. She let him remove her pants and her panties, simply lifting her body as necessary to make it easier on him.

"Damn, Bones," he marveled. "I've always known you were gorgeous, but seeing you here, sprawled out in my bed . . . I don't think I've ever seen a more perfect sight."

Brennan raised her arms. "C'mere, Booth."

He crawled onto the bed above her, her legs falling open to make room for him to settle in between them. He wasn't planning to tease her more, but had to slide his fingers into her folds and check to make sure she was ready for him. Even though he knew she'd had an orgasm already and she'd made several references to her wet panties, he always tested his partners before intercourse. Of course, once he touched the slick folds and could feel exactly how ready she was, he was tempted to linger. He wanted to slide his fingers through her dew. He wanted to feel the tight heat of her channel as she clamped down on his fingers. He wanted to tease her clit with his thumb and especially with his mouth.

But she growled at him impatiently. "Booooooth." The sound was incredibly sexy. "Now. I want you inside me, now."

Sometimes, he really liked demanding-Bones.

He shifted and aligned the head of his cock with her entrance, but before going any further, he pinned her arms to the mattress beside her head, his fingers entwined with hers, and looked right into her eyes. He wanted to watch her expression as he slid into her this first time. "Stay with me, Bones."

Her eyes returned his gaze and as he slowly sank his length deep into her sheath, he saw her nostrils flare and her eyes glaze over as a look of bliss fluttered across her face. But she didn't look away and she didn't close her eyes and when he was buried to the hilt as deep as he could go, she simply whispered his name. It was perfect.

Brennan's legs came up on either side of his hips, widening her hips a little more and letting him settle yet a little deeper still as her heels came to rest on his flesh. She was surrounded by Booth. Filled by him. And the walls of her pussy rippled and stretched to accommodate him fully, embracing him deep in her womb.

Booth began to thrust, back and forth, in and out, keeping the rhythm slow and easy until she bucked against him, once again, demanding more. His demanding-Bones. He released her hands, bending his elbows, and leaned down to kiss her, surprised at how quick she was to meet him even though the kiss she bestowed on him was sensually tender, full of care, and not just carnal.

Her arms wrapped around his back, pulling him closer and her nails left little trails of fire on his skin as she stroked him up and down. He picked up his pace and began to fuck her harder, his motions getting quicker until with each thrust, he felt his balls slapping against her ass. She met him stroke for stroke as his cock slid home, again and again, filling her body and soul in a manner she'd never fully experienced before.

The sexual tension between them built and swelled until Brennan was poised on the brink of an orgasm once again, this one threatening to be so much more mind shattering than the earlier one. Booth was close too, but needed her to go first, needed to feel her release before he could completely let go and enjoy his.

"Bones." All he said was her name, but it conveyed all that he needed it to and she let go, her pussy clenching him hard as she cried out his name and came harder than she could ever recall occurring before.

"Booones." Again, just her name, but she knew he was coming too as his cock rippled inside her. Her still pulsating walls gripped him and milked him of his essence as she clung tight to him, never wanting the moment to fully end.

When it was over and he could move again, he rolled to his side, pulling her with him. She rested her head on his shoulder with one arm thrown across his chest and one leg tangled in between his. Booth reached for the blankets to cover them both and wrap them in their own little cocoon.

"We didn't finish your tick check, you know."

"Mmmm. That's okay. You can start over in the morning."

Brennan looked up at his contented face and saw the soft smile on his lips. "Tomorrow morning? I'm certain your refractory period is much quicker than that Booth and it's still early. I'm not planning to share our bed with anyone, even a tick for one night, so don't get too comfortable." She settled back down, placing a quick kiss on his shoulder.

 _Our bed._ Booth liked the sound of that rolling off her tongue and was looking forward to showing her just how short his refractory period actually was.

For the first time, he thought that maybe getting a tick or two or a dozen might not be all that bad after all.

* * *

 **A/N:** _Whew! I hope you're all hot and bothered now. A little longer than I planned, but I guess I got carried away. Comments?_

 _I was planning for this to be the end of this, but have had a few other scenarios pop in my head of how a day in the field could lead to a shared intimacy (i.e. – rigorous sex) and so I'm debating renaming this story "Field Trips" and making it into a series of shorts where my Naughty-Muse can be let out to play. Did you enjoy this enough to merit that? Should I go on? Prompts would be more than welcome._


	3. Searching for Ixodoidea - Part 3

**A/N:** _So here's a short little bonus chapter that popped into my head a while back and I've been meaning to add it before moving on to the next short story I've outlined for this series. Not quite as risqué as the last chapter, but continues on with that storyline. Hope you enjoy it!_

* * *

 **Disclaimer** : I own nothing _Bones_ related except my imagination.

* * *

Booth parked his SUV at the crime scene and hopped out of the truck, eyes immediately scanning the scene and spotting the Jeffersonian Mobile Lab truck intermingled with the dozen other FBI-issue black SUVs, FBI evidence recovery vehicles and a handful of local police cars. Several small groups of field agents were clustered around the area that had been cordoned off with bright yellow "Crime Scene – Do Not Cross" tape, but Booth was most interested in the group of squints huddled around the dead body on the ground in the center of action. He could feel his heart rate pick up and a pleasant sense of anticipation bubble up in his veins that had absolutely nothing to do with his job as he looked for his girlfriend of just about three full weeks now amidst the cluster of Jeffersonian jumpsuits.

 _G-I-R-L-F-R-I-E-N-D._

He loved saying that word about her at least as much as Bones hated hearing it. _I'm not a girl, Booth. I'm a fully developed, mature woman_ , she'd complain with an exasperated frown as she glared at him. And damn, wasn't that the truth. He was still discovering first hand that there was absolutely nothing girl-like about his woman's body, he thought gleefully. The lush feminine curves, the sensual throaty moans, the deliciously wicked imagination she exercised regarding very adult subject matters . . .

Heh, heh. His Woman. His _girlfriend_.

Ahh, and there she was . . .

. . . . Squatting across the body from Hodgins and partially hidden from Booth's view on the other side of Cam.

With a spring in his step, Booth strode purposefully closer until he could see her fully, stopping about ten feet away from the group, just before the man-made barrier created by a couple evidence recovery tables they had set up adjacent to the deceased.

"Good morning my wonderful Jeffersonian squint squad." Booth greeted them with a cheerful and boisterous hello as three sets of eyes turned his way. He ignored the suspicious looks his happy greeting prompted from Cam and Hodgins and concentrated instead on the softening he saw in Bones' eyes when they landed on him and the hint of a secretive smile that curled the corners of her lips as she tried to maintain her focus on their professional responsibilities, not him. Damn, but it was a challenge to resist reaching for her when she gave him affectionate looks like that.

"Morning G-man," Cam responded, drawing his attention. "You're in an awfully good mood today."

Hodgins chuckled. "Yeah. If you were any other guy and didn't live so much like a monk, I'd assume your good mood was the result of some great morning sex."

Booth could feel the tips of his ears turning red as he thought to himself that even though Hodgins correctly pinpointed the source of his good mood, he didn't know the half of it. Images of just how a naked Bones had woken him up earlier that morning flashed through his mind causing his blush to deepen and prompting him to step just a little closer to the table in front of him so it could hide the reaction occurring south of his belly button. Instead of commenting, he simply pulled his pen and index cards from his suit pocket, preparing to start taking notes.

"Oh my God!" All eyes turned to Cam who was staring at Booth in shock. "Dr. Hodgins is right. You didn't snap at him or correct him. And look at your ears. You _did_ have sex this morning."

"Cam," his voice was a warning that she needed to watch what she said, but his eyes flicked to Bones for her reaction. She appeared unconcerned and mildly amused at his embarrassment. It wasn't that they were trying to keep what was happening between them a secret per se, as much as they didn't feel it was anyone else's business or that it belonged at the workplace, so they hadn't exactly sent out flyers or made public announcements to anyone. They figured people would catch on eventually, but for now, it was still just theirs.

Regardless, giving a blow-by-blow accounting of their early morning activities to Cam and company wasn't what he intended to do. Repeating those activities at the first possible opportunity? Yes. Absolutely. Discussing them amongst a group? No way.

In the way that old friends often did, Cam naturally just ignored him and his threatening one-word growl. "Well, if you ask me, it's about damn time, Seeley, and I hope she was more than just a one-night stand. I'm not sure it's healthy for a man in his prime like you to go that long without . . . well, you know . . . a little _stress_ _relief_ now and again."

Of course, right after the words left her mouth, Cam recalled that the specific reason he'd gone such a long time without being more sexually active was kneeling immediately to her left. Someone else who'd gone a really long time without, you know, and whose reaction to this news was likely to be unpredictable at best. _Shit, shit, shit_. Almost afraid to look, Cam took a deep breath before slowly turning towards Dr. Brennan to gage her response and was completely taken aback to see the laughter dancing in her colleague's eyes as she pretended to continue examining the body. "You knew about this?"

"Oh, yes," Brennan assured her with a wicked smile. "I knew exactly when Booth took a new lover and you're observation is correct. His mood is much better in the mornings when he starts the day with at least one round of sexual intercourse. Apparently coffee, coitus, and a donut are all he needs, although not necessarily in that order."

"Bones!" Booth chastised, afraid of what details pertaining to their recent intimacy she might cavalierly blurt out in front of the entire field team. "Let's all just . . . let's just focus on the case and not on my love life, okay?" Booth waved his pen and index cards towards the body, attempting to redirect them. "What can you tell me about Dead Guy here?"

"Well, Dead Guy is a Dead Girl," Cam replied in a matter of fact tone.

"I concur," Brennan added. "The shape of the pelvic girdle is definitely consistent with the remains of a female, not a male."

"You seem to be pretty okay with this," Hodgins spoke softly, only to Brennan, looking up at her curiously from beneath lowered eyes. He knew that whether she'd ever admit it or not, his colleague had some strong feelings towards her partner.

Brennan's eyes furrowed in confusion. "That the deceased is a female instead of a male?"

"No," he smiled. "That Booth has a new lady love."

"Oh." Despite her reputation for being insensitive to people's emotions and the hidden meanings behind spoken words, a quick glance at Hodgins assured Brennan that his comment was made out of friendly concern for her and not a desire to pursue frivolous gossip. Her eyes momentarily sought out Booth again before turning back to the corpse on the ground. "Yes. Well Booth is an adult with a healthy sexual appetite that couldn't be repressed indefinitely. I must admit that I am quite pleased that he's no longer clinging to misguided notions of propriety and that he has finally allowed himself to indulge in something that brings him personal pleasure and satisfaction."

And suddenly, Hodgins just knew. He wasn't sure if it was something he saw on her face when she looked at Booth; something in the tone of her voice as she spoke; or just an innate recognition that with these two, no other feasible possibility really existed – not one that allowed them both to be happy. But even though her words had been vague, all of a sudden, he just knew without a shadow of doubt in his mind that Booth's morning romp had been with the woman squatting in the mud in front of him and he felt a bubble of giddy happiness clamoring to escape his chest and bursting through leaving a big smile across his face. There was nothing Hodgins loved more than love itself. Well, that and bugs. And Angela, of course.

Dear God. Angela.

Oh, wait until Angela found out. "Man the sails and batten down the hatches" he muttered to himself with an elated grin.

For the next 10-15 minutes, they continued to examine the body, filling Booth in on the observations they'd made – age, weight, height, and signs of physical trauma or other anomalies about the body.

Pulling the forceps from her utility belt, Brennan plucked a small sliver of something from the corpse's shoulder and placed it in a labelled evidence tray to be examined closer back at the lab. Booth watched her covertly as she stood and stretched unconsciously, working out the kinks in her muscles from crouching down so long before she started walking towards him, hips swaying in a natural rhythm with each step she took. Damn. He loved this woman and since they'd crossed that line, he found every move she made to be instinctively seductive, pulling on his libido.

Brennan stopped on the opposite side of the evidence recovery table, immediately across from him and placed the sliver she'd just extracted down next to a few other previously recovered items. Even though it had only been a couple hours since they parted ways earlier that morning, she had missed him and she was happy to see him. She didn't say a word, but with her back to the rest of the group, she let her eyes speak her thoughts as they roamed from his head, down his torso to his crotch, and back again, leaving Booth tingling all over as though he'd actually been physically stroked. It was arousing as hell.

Booth had to clear his throat before he could speak and even so, his voice was soft and gravely. "Mornin' Bones." He looked to the left, then the right to gage whether anyone was observing them or not. "Hey, looky there, is that a tick I see there on your jumpsuit? Let me brush that off for you." As he spoke, he reached out with the hand that was holding his naked-lady pen and using just the knuckle that was curled around his pen, he unerringly stroked back and forth gently right across Brennan's nipple, until he felt the nub hardening beneath her outfit, knowing no one could see his actions with the way they were positioned.

Brennan's nostrils flared with desire, but she still managed to roll her eyes at him as a reluctant smile blossomed on her face. "No, Booth. I'm pretty sure that's just a tit, not a tick."

The referencing of _ticks_ was a euphemism for a desire to engage in sex and it had become a game of sorts between them. She couldn't get upset though. Not only did she reap the rewards of the game (it was a win-win type of game afterall), she'd inadvertently been the one to start it.

 _They'd been out for an early morning jog together just a couple days after becoming intimate lovers in addition to partners. A mile or so into their run, Booth had pulled off his t-shirt and tucked it into the waistband of his shorts, leaving him bare chested._

 _A couple miles later, as they'd been following a path that meandered through a wooded section of a public park, Booth's shoe lace had come undone, so they'd paused in their run to allow him to take care of it._

 _Brennan had stood beside him, watching the naked muscles of his back and arms flex as he'd squatted down to tie his laces. Who knew that tying a shoe could be so erotic, but the sheen of sweat on his body had glistened in the early morning light filtering in through the trees and she'd been enthralled by the simple pleasure of just admiring his physique as his muscles tensed and pulled with his actions._

 _When he stood up again, she acted without really considering the consequences of her actions or even what she intended to achieve by her behavior. Her blood was rapidly racing through her veins from their run and the rational part of her mind was temporarily suspended. All she felt was a compelling desire to touch him. So she did._

 _She stepped right up in front of him, their chests only a hair apart and planted one hand, palm down, flat against his chest while with just one finger on the other hand, she'd trailed her fingernail lightly across his thigh . . . right inside the hem of his running shorts . . . starting at the outside edge of his leg and continuing inward until she'd delivered one single, soft stroke all along the side of Booth's scrotum with her fingertip._

 _His sharply inhaled gasp had coincided with her softly drawled "you know, the last time you were in the woods you picked up a number of eight-legged hitchhikers. I'm thinking it would be wise of us to perform another tick inspection when we return to your apartment to make sure there's no repeat offenders."_

 _Apparently, the rational part of Booth's mind had been temporarily suspended too._

 _Brennan estimated no more than about 45 seconds could've passed between when she uttered those words and when Booth had thrust fully into her. In the blink of an eye, he had dragged her about 20 feet off the running trail, pinning her back to a tree big enough to shield them should anyone pass by before yanking her shorts down to her ankles. He freed himself as he stood back up and in a jiffy . . . he'd been buried inside her. All the way._

 _It was fast. It was frantic. And, it was oh so fabulous._

Since that escapade, there'd been a half dozen other incidences where one of them made some comment about seeing a tick somewhere on the other's body. They both knew it was just an excuse to touch one another intimately, but each occasion had eventually led to some type of passionate clinch.

Booth and Brennan locked eyes across the table. Even though it had only been a few hours since they'd left their bed, Booth wanted her again and his desire was clear in his gaze. Even though they were supposed to be working and not letting their personal relationship interfere with their professional responsibilities, Brennan wanted him just as much and let him see it in her gaze too.

"How much more do you have left to do here?"

Brennan shook her head. "Not much. I'm basically done. The rest of the examination can be completed at the lab."

"Good, good." They continued to stand there for a moment longer until Cam walked up, breaking their connection.

"Well, I think that's a wrap for us out here. Time to head back indoors. Are you riding back in the Jeffersonian van with me, Dr. Brennan?"

Booth and Brennan both glanced over at his SUV, thinking of the possibilities, before turning back to one another and realizing their minds were travelling in the same direction.

"No. No, I believe I'll be catching a ride with Agent Booth."

Booth turned away and with a wave of his arm up in the air, directed the FBI techs to start packing things up and preparing all the evidence for delivery to the Jeffersonian. "Let's go, Bones."

Cam stood there with her arms crossed, watching them hustling off to Booth's truck. Hodgins stepped up beside her.

"It's her," Cam stated, realizing the reason for Booth's earlier good mood.

"Yep."

She sighed. "Do you suppose she'll even make it back to the lab before the remains are delivered?"

Hodgins looked around and figured it would be another good 30-45 minutes before the evidence was adequately packaged up for transport. "Hmm, hard to say. But, hey, look on the bright side, if she's not back, you can continue your exam of the fleshy parts in peace."

Cam shook her head in resignation. "Well, at least I shouldn't have to worry about the security guards delivering a video of them to me, unlike some other couple I now know way too much about."

Hodgins laughed. "Not today, anyway."

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 **A/N:** _Thanks for reading! Hope it won't be quite so long before I post something else again._


	4. Searching for Ixodoidea - Part 4

**A/N:** _This one is specially for GalaxieGurl - Thanks for all your support with all my stories and life beyond fanfic too. This chapter didn't completely follow what I expected when I started it for you (do they ever?), but I hope you (and the handful of others who asked for a little more) find it enjoyable._

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 **Disclaimer** : I own nothing _Bones_ related except my imagination.

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Drs. Cam Saroyan and Jack Hodgins had remained at the crime scene for a bit after Booth and Brennan left, making sure everything went smoothly with the recovery of the remains and the integrity of the evidence collection. Jack was especially diligent in packing up a box of soil and bug samples he had collected earlier that morning which he wanted to personally carry back to the lab with him so he could start his testing without waiting for the FBI to deliver the balance of the evidence. The handful of swabs securely tucked into test-tubes and a half-dozen petri-dish samples fit into a padded steel carrying-case just about the size of a shoebox, but would still keep him busy for a couple of hours.

Hodgins, who was used to navigating the streets of Washington D.C. in his mini-cooper, was always impressed with the way Cam maneuvered the over-sized Jeffersonian Mobile Lab van through the convoluted fracas of D.C. traffic like a pro NASCAR driver and chalked her mad driving skills up to her years spent living in New York City. From nearly the beginning of her tenure with the Jeffersonian, she'd always commanded the seat behind the wheel while Hodgins was happy to co-pilot.

The instant Cam pulled the truck back into its designated parking spot tucked behind the main building and close to the loading dock, Hodgins hopped out of the passenger seat, his sneakers hitting the pavement with a soft _thwack_. Wasting no time, he grabbed his little box of goodies from the back of the van and headed into the building.

"Thanks for the ride, Cam," he threw over his shoulder as he rapidly made tracks for the service elevator that would take him up to the Medico-Legal lab area. He really should've waited and walked with Cam, he thought. On any other day, he would've. They would've made more small talk, like they had while driving, mostly about the lab going-ons or the case since Cam was often closed mouthed about her personal life, and he would've offered to give her a hand with whatever she needed to carry back into the building with her. That was how these things usually played out.

But not today. Today, he ran up the stairs adjacent to the elevator, taking the steps two at a time, because he didn't even want to delay the extra minute required for the elevator to arrive. Today, Cam would just have to call upstairs and get one of the interns to come down and help her with her field bags. Jack was a man on a mission and as eager as he always was to start looking at the beauties he collected in the field through his microscopes and other assorted high-tech laboratory equipment, today, even that would have to wait. Angela was his number one priority.

Hoping his new wife would forgive him even this small delay, he first marched directly into his ookey room to drop off his box of goodies before seeking her out. That done, his next and immediate destination was Angela's office. Unfortunately, when he sailed into Angela's office with all the overly-exuberant enthusiasm of a child on Christmas morning vaulting from their bed and heading towards the family Christmas tree, he discovered that she wasn't there.

"Damn."

Hodgins stood there near the doorway with his hands on his hips, looking left and right around the room, almost as if he expected to find Angela hiding amongst the knick-knacks and artistic paraphernalia that decorated her walls. He _could_ wait for her he supposed, certain she couldn't be too far away . . . but, to be honest, he didn't want to. He wanted to share his abundant joy over his newfound knowledge about their friend and mentor with the love of his life and he wanted to share it now.

"Urghh." With an impatient growl, he pivoted on his heel and stormed out of Angela's office determined to hunt her down. He absolutely had to find her before Cam made it upstairs and bumped into her first. It would majorly suck and take all the fun out of his morning if Cam were to spoil his surprise.

Hodgins checked out Brennan's office first, which was still empty, lights out, then headed to the break room area in the loft. It wasn't until he was descending the stairs leading back to the main lab floor that he finally caught sight of Angela, walking down the hallway where the exam rooms were located.

Without a word, he swooped in behind her, grabbed her hand, and after a quick check to make sure no one was watching them, tugged her into the nearest utility closet.

As soon as the door shut behind them, Jack spun his wife around so her back was pressed against the door, and cupped both her cheeks in his hands, bringing their faces together.

"Oh my God, Jack . . . " Angela's surprised exclamation was cut-off when his lips met hers with a breath stealing intensity. He just couldn't resist. He was simply too happy and needed an outlet for some of the excitement he was feeling before he exploded. As always, she was quick to respond, her full lips opening slightly and inviting him to explore her mouth more deeply as he leaned his body into hers. Instinctively, her right hand came up and pressed against his chest, immediately over his heart. She loved to feel the pulse of his heart beating against her palm as they kissed because to Angela, lovemaking . . . all types of lovemaking . . . was fundamentally all about the heart and expressing the heart's desires. There was a certain intimacy in physically feeling the echo of a lover's heart against her palm that she relished.

Besides, it still left her other hand free to wander at will – around Jack's waist, stroking up his back, letting her fingers entwine with the soft curls on the nape of his neck, the scrape of her fingernails at his nape sending a shudder down his spine.

Angela and Hodgins had made a pretty thorough tour of all the secret hide-aways they could find within the walls of the Jeffersonian over the last few years and this wasn't their first time enclosed in this particular closet, so Angela didn't stop to ponder too hard why they were there now. Jack liked sex and Angela liked sex and they both liked a little spontaneous adventure now and again (and again), so why not? She was almost always game and there were no hidden cameras in these closets. They'd checked. Multiple times.

Jack finally pulled back enough to allow them to each catch their breaths when he felt Angela start to tug his shirt out from his pants waistband.

"Damn, Angie. You must know how much I love you," he whispered as his hands slid down from her cheeks to wrap around her waist.

As Cam and Hodgins had driven back from the crime scene, he'd thought about how best to fill Angela in on the new development in Booth and Brennan's relationship and had his monologue all worked out, but after that kiss and with the scent of her perfume enveloping him in its thrall, all his thoughts were muddled. Feeling her fingers slipping free the buttons on his shirt that she had just liberated from his pants was not helping his reasoning capabilities improve any either.

Angela tilted her head back against the door, arching her neck and allowing Hodgins easier access to trail his open mouthed kisses across her jaw and down her neck. She loved the contrasting sensations generated by the wet heat of his mouth juxtaposed with the soft tickling brush of his beard and moustache against her skin. She was thoroughly enjoying this unexpected interlude and moaned softly when Jack lifted one hand up to grasp her breast, his thumb teasingly stroking back and forth across the very tip in a way that he knew made her engines rev.

Knowing that her husband was apt to consider something like the sight of slugs mating as foreplay, a thought she found so revolting that it actually bordered on fascinating, it was with cautious trepidation that she found herself huskily uttering "So . . . what brought this on, Hodgie?"

He simultaneously squeezed her nipple between his fingers, sending a delicious shiver through her body, and responded to her question by whispering sexily right into her ear. "What if I told you that Booth and Brennan are having sex?"

"What?" Angela gasped with a high-pitched, incredulous squeak as she shoved Hodgins away from her by his shoulders and stared at him in open mouthed disbelief. "No. Way. Seriously? You mean, like right now?"

"No, of course not." Hodgins pulled her back into his arms. "Well, I mean . . . maybe . . . . actually . . . I'm almost definitely sure of it . . . " he started planting small, sucking kisses on her neck again between words, ". . . but I meant it in a more general sense." His hands found the zipper at the back of her pencil skirt and started lowering it. "I'm not sure when it started, but their relationship has definitely changed now and they've started sleeping together."

"You're sure about this?"

"Yep. I am totally sure."

"Oh, that bitch," Angela responded with a husky laugh, the happy smile on her face belying the sting of her words. "That is so hot and she is so going to have to spill when she gets back here later." Her hand slipped around between them and she reached down to cup Hodgin's erection in her hand, squeezing him through his pants. "God, I totally wish I could've been there to see the two of them when that dam finally broke."

Hodgins knew she meant that both figuratively and literally. Angela had been championing a romantic relationship between Booth and Brennan for _years_ and being able to witness the shift in their dynamic would've made her so happy for her friends on an emotional level. But, she also has some definite voyeuristic tendencies and to be perfectly frank, he didn't doubt that the mental images of Booth and Brennan tearing each other's clothes off and going at one another with several years' worth of pent up passion were fueling both his and her libidos right now, with spectacularly awesome results. Between the glossy-eyed look on his wife's face and the enthusiastic manner in which she was currently working her magical fingers over his cock, Jack was pretty certain speculating on the activities Booth and Brennan might be engaging in together was going to be more favorable to his love life than any other aphrodisiac that existed in the market.

Needless to say, it was at least another 20 minutes before they finally emerged from the closet, both heading towards their respective gender based restrooms to freshen up a bit before getting back to work.

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It was somewhere around an hour after Jack and Cam had returned from the crime scene that Brennan breezed back into the lab, heading directly for her office. It wasn't all that hard to banish the smile that had been perpetually hovering around her mouth during the past couple hours when she mentally started to catalogue all the work-related items she needed to try and address that afternoon, independent of the new crime case that had just appeared that morning. With her mind thus occupied, she didn't notice Angela sitting on her couch, open magazine in her lap, until Angela not-so-discreetly cleared her throat.

Brennan glanced over, her brow still furrowed in thought as she stopped beside her desk and picked up the mail that had been delivered to her in-box while she was out. "Oh. Hey, Ange. I didn't see you there. Did the FBI deliver the remains yet?"

Angela set aside her magazine, stood up from the couch and approached her friend, watching her start to flip through her correspondence. "Yep. They did. A little while ago actually. Cam put Daisy to work getting the remains laid out and prepared for x-rays."

"Hmm. I suppose I'll have to go check on her and make sure everything is prepared properly."

"I'm sure she'll be fine for another few minutes." Angela crossed her arms and leaned casually against the edge of Brennan's desk. "Hodgins said you and Booth left the scene _before_ the remains though. Did you stop for ice cream on the way back?"

Brennan frowned. "It's not even quite time for lunch yet, Ange. Of course we didn't stop for ice cream."

"No ice cream?" Brennan absently shook her head no, turning one of the envelopes in her hand over to see the opposite side, only part of her attention on Angela.

"No coffee? No pie?" Angela persisted and again, Brennan shook her head in denial.

"No. We didn't stop for any food."

"Did you make a detour to interrogate a suspect?"

At that, Brennan looked up, puzzled. "We don't even know who the victim is yet, Angela, or anything about her. Of course we didn't go speak to any suspects. It's way too early for that."

"Did Booth get a flat tire?"

"What?" Brennan finally realized that there was something odd about Angela's voice that Brennan couldn't quite identify, but she was starting to get a little uneasy. She hadn't ever dated when she was in high school, but she suspected that if she had and if her parents hadn't abandoned her, her father probably would've interrogated her in a manner very similar to what Angela was doing right then. "No. No, nothing like that," she answered carefully.

"Huh. So then tell me Sweetie, what exactly happened to make you and Booth lose over an hour's worth of time between leaving the crime scene and returning to work?"

Uh oh. Brennan finally realized the trap she'd been led into, but she had never been comfortable with telling a blatant lie, especially to Angela who seemed to have a built-in truth detector where Brennan was concerned, so she tried instead to divert the discussion. "I should really go and check on Daisy."

"I'd suggest you fix the misaligned buttons on your blouse first," Angela offered casually.

Brennan looked worriedly down at her blouse and double-checked her buttons. "My blouse is fine," she responded, extremely baffled by Angela now.

"But you had to check because you weren't sure, didn't you?" Angela smirked and leaned in closer, as though she were about to share a secret. "What if I told you that you smell like sex?" she whispered.

Brennan's eyes got big and she inhaled sharply as a blush lit up her face and she finally comprehended that she and Booth were totally busted. "Really?" She sniffed her shirt, trying to down-play Angela's accusation. She could certainly detect a little bit of Booth's scent on her clothing, but honestly, she rather liked that fact. "Is it truly that obvious?"

Angela just waved her hand around flippantly, a triumphant smile on her face. "Who knows? It could just be my imagination." Then she thought of her earlier closet escapade. "Or, it could be me and Jack I smell. But, Sweetie, the real point here is that it _could_ be you, couldn't it?"

Brennan snorted, and rolled her eyes, giving in to the inevitable. "Yes, Ange," she finally confessed. "I suppose it could."

"Ooooh!" Angela squealed happily and pulled Brennan into a quick hug. Knowing, with confirmation, was just that much more exciting than merely _knowing_. "I'm so happy for you guys, even if you did keep it from me . . . Ahem, your best friend, if you'll recall. You and I are going to have to talk a bit about what that means by the way."

Curious, Brennan asked "How did you find out?" as she stepped behind her desk and dropped into her chair.

This time is was Angela's turn to snort before responding. "Hodgins figured it out by the way you and Booth were ogling each other at the scene this morning and told me right before he fucked me silly in the supply closet."

"Oh my," Brennan chuckled. "So I guess I'm not the only one who took a mid-morning work break today."

"No, Sweetie, you're not. So . . ." Angela grinned wickedly and wagged her eyebrows up and down, ". . . how was it?"

"It?"

"Yes, IT. You know exactly what I mean."

"It was fine." Brennan smiled a bit and paused thoughtfully. "Good . . . . " her smile slowly grew wider, her lips curling more dramatically, exposing her front teeth and creating little crinkles around her eyes, until her expression could only be qualified as an ear-to-ear grin, ". . . . . Very, very good, actually."

"Oh?"

"Booth is surprisingly quite lusty."

"And?"

"As I suspected, it turns out we're quite compatible, sexually."

"And? . . . You're killing me here. I need some details, Sweetie."

Brennan sighed and shook her head. "I'm sorry, Ange. I know we've always spoken pretty openly about our love affairs in the past, but Booth's a private man and I need to respect that. I don't want to jeopardize what we've started together so I can't give you much more than that."

"Uughhh. Fine," Angela acquiesced with a mock pout, not at all surprised that Booth wouldn't want their girl talk to get too graphic, but a little surprised that Brennan had picked up on that. "I guess if you're going to be all mature and adult about this, then I'll just have to use my imagination and make up my own stories about how you and Studly spent your morning."

Brennan laughed. "Thanks for understanding, Ange. Now, I really have to get back to work, but before you go, I will at least confess that I can no longer claim I've never made love in the back seat of a car. Booth and I thoroughly took care of broadening my horizons on that front this morning."

THE END.

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 **A/N:** _Comments are always appreciated. Also, for those who've asked about some of my other ongoing stories, I've added a short status update on my profile page for you._


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